Klobuk Fortress, Trebinje

Klobuk Fortress, a medieval town on the cliffs above the Sušica, a national monument more than a thousand years old.

The ruins of Klobuk stand on sheer cliffs dropping to the Sušica river, some thirty kilometres from Trebinje on the road to Nikšić. It was the most imposing medieval fortified town in the region, already mentioned by the Byzantine emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus more than a thousand years ago.

For centuries it was one of the key strongholds of eastern Herzegovina. The Ottomans kept a garrison here from 1477 until 1878, when Austro-Hungarian forces took it, destroyed it and looted it. Today it is a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Its walls and towers, up to six metres high, have never been restored, and it was exactly that authenticity that drew Emir Kusturica, who shot part of his film "On the Milky Road" here, with Monica Bellucci in the lead role.

Getting there

About 30 km from Trebinje, along the main road to Nikšić.

It can only be reached from the west: drive to the foot, then walk up without a marked path.

• Wear sturdy shoes
• Combine it with a swim in the Sušica
• In summer, set off early before the heat